1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a manual winch which includes two manually operable release levers for the ratchet mechanism both of which must be manually held in retracted position in order to enable free unwinding of a cable from the winch drum. Specifically, a latch structure is provided for the drum ratchet release lever and a pin is provided to hold the retrieving ratchet release lever disengaged thereby enabling an operator to unwind cable from the winch drum without hand holding the release levers in released position. The winch includes a handle for manually winding a cable on a drum with a storage arrangement being provided for the handle to retain it in stored position when not in use.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Various types of manual winches are available in which a ratchet mechanism is provided to wind a cable on a winch drum. In order to freely unwind the cable from the winch drum, it is necessary to manually hold two release levers in released or unlocked position while at the same time exerting tension on the cable. This frequently requires two people, one to hold the levers in released position and another to exert tension on the cable for unwinding it from the winch drum. Winches of this type are frequently mounted on vehicles, such as all terrain vehicles, so that the vehicle may be manually moved by unwinding the cable from the winch drum, attaching the cable to a stationary object, such as a tree or the like, and manually winding the cable onto the winch drum by utilizing a handle and ratchet mechanisms associated with the winch drum so that the vehicle can be pulled to a desired location. Conventional manually operated winches of this type include a release lever for the winch drum and a release lever for the retrieving ratchet associated with the manually oscillatable handle so that both of these levers must be held in released position in order to unwind the cable from the winch drum.